Boeing’s sixth-generation fighter F-47 has entered the engineering and manufacturing development phase with an “unprecedented level of maturity,” stated Air Force Director of Critical Acquisition Programs General Dale White on July 30. According to him, the program is already building a small batch of test aircraft.
Speaking at the Life Cycle Industry Days conference in Dayton, Ohio, General White described the industry collaboration model as “extreme teaming” — a format that allowed the program to enter the EMD phase with a high degree of readiness. The EMD phase involves the refinement, integration, and testing of all aircraft systems and includes the production of a limited number of test articles, as well as optional provisions for low-rate initial production. White did not disclose the exact number of test aircraft.
The first F-47 prototype is already in production at Boeing’s facility in St. Louis, Missouri — the same site that produces the F-15EX, F/A-18E/F, and the T-7A Red Hawk trainer.
At the same time, a technical challenge has been identified in the program — the engine. The intended adaptive powerplant is being developed under a separate program, Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP). General Electric is working on the XA102 engine, while Pratt & Whitney (an RTX division) is developing the XA103. Both are three-stream adaptive turbofan engines capable of switching airflow between maximum fuel-efficiency and maximum-thrust modes.
AFLCMC propulsion director John Sneden reported that due to budget constraints, the NGAP schedule has slipped by approximately three years. Prototyping is expected to conclude around 2031, and the engine will not be ready for integration before 2030.
This means that the first F-47 flight in 2028 will take place with a different, interim powerplant.
Analysts are drawing attention to the risks of this approach — building and testing the aircraft airframe in parallel with the unfinished development of a critical component. A similar practice already cost the F-35 program significant additional expenditures: some delivered aircraft had to be retrofitted after leaving the factory, as they were accepted before testing was complete.
